TCEQ approves extended operating hours for 130 Environmental Park landfill over odor and noise objections

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted July 23 to approve a limited-scope amendment allowing 130 Environmental Park LLC to extend waste acceptance and operating hours at its municipal solid waste landfill in Caldwell County, after the Executive Director recommended revising the Administrative Law Judge’s proposal for decision.

The commission’s action follows a contested-case hearing in which nearby residents testified that they frequently experience odors and intermittent noise when the landfill operates. The Executive Director and the applicant argued the draft permit meets applicable legal and technical requirements under 30 TAC and Senate Bill 709; the Office of Public Interest Counsel and the Administrative Law Judge had recommended denying the amendment.

The amendment sought by 130 Environmental Park would change waste-acceptance hours and operating hours from the permit’s current authorizations. According to the Executive Director’s presentation, the current permit authorizes waste acceptance between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and operating hours between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. The limited-scope amendment requested to authorize waste acceptance between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, add waste acceptance from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and authorize operating hours on Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The applicant’s attorney, Brent Ryan, told the commission the case is governed by Senate Bill 709 and implementing rules that create a prima facie presumption in favor of the Executive Director’s draft permit where the administrative record is filed. Ryan said staff requested no additional information on odor or noise during the review and that the applicant retained national experts who measured odor and noise, finding only occasional, low-intensity odor detections and ambient noise levels comparable to non‑operational days. Ryan argued the draft permit “meets all applicable requirements and will protect human health and safety, the environment, and physical property,” and asked the commission to revise the ALJ’s PFD accordingly.

Marissa Perales, counsel for the protestants who requested the contested case, argued the only substantive rule governing the operating-hours question is 30 TAC 330.135 and that the applicant bore the burden of proof to justify operating hours outside the default 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. standard. Perales told the commission the ALJ evaluated the record and concluded the applicant had not satisfied that burden and stressed the neighbors’ first‑hand testimony about frequent odors and noise during operations.

Anthony Tetu, staff attorney in the Environmental Law Division speaking for the Executive Director, recommended the commission revise the PFD and…